It’s A Wonderful Life Sequel in the Works

Just in time for Christmas, Hollywood gets ready capitalize on a holiday classic.

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It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Somewhere Frank Capra is rolling over in his grave. The iconic holiday film It’s A Wonderful Life — a Christmas staple in many households — will get a sequel titled It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story, Variety reports.

The original 1946 movie directed by Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed was nominated for five Oscars. It centers on the life of family man George Bailey who wishes he was never born on Christmas Eve after a series of disappointments and disasters in his life. A guardian angel intervenes to show Bailey what his loved ones’ lives would be like had he never been born, restoring happiness, hope and holiday cheer to Bailey, his family and his town.

In the sequel, Bailey’s daughter Zuzu (who uttered the immortal lines “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!”) will return as an angel who shows Bailey’s unlikeable grandson (also named George Bailey) how much better off the world would have been had he never been born…a plot that sounds way more depressing than the orignal. Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu in the first film, will reprise her role. No other casting decisions have been made yet, though filmmakers are reportedly in talks with actors from the original film to reprise certain roles.

“The new film will retain the feeling of the original, and it simply must be shared,” Grimes said. “I’ve probably read close to 20 scripts over the years suggesting a sequel to It’s a Wonderful Life, but none of them were any good. The script by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton was wonderful, and I wanted to be involved with his version of the film immediately.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJfZaT8ncYk]